France

France, officially the French Republic (French: République française), is a developed country in western Europe. Paris is the capital of France.

In the late eighteenth century, the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the French Revolution, which forever changed France's history. The country was governed for a period as a Republic until the French Empire was declared by Napoleon Bonaparte. Following Napoleon's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, France went through several further regime changes; being ruled as a monarchy, then briefly as a Second Republic, and then as a Second Empire, until a more lasting French Third Republic was established in 1870.

During the First World War, France was a member of the Triple Entente along with its allies Russia and the United Kingdom. Following Russia's declaration of war on both the German and Austro-Hungarian empires, France became engulfed by the global conflict that spanned four long years. The French managed to hold the Central Powers at bay along the Western Front with aid from both the British and the eager American fighters who joined the fight in the final years of the war. Ultimately, the allied cause proved victorious and resulted in the collapse of the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires.

France was one of the Allied Powers in World War II, but was conquered by Nazi Germany within two months. The Third Republic was dismantled, and most of the country was controlled directly by the Axis Powers while the south was controlled by the collaborationist Vichy government.

Since World War II, France has been a leading member in the UN, the European Union, and NATO, and remains a strong economic, cultural, military and political influence in the 21st century.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. They appear in the singleplayer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.

Law Enforcement

Seal

Branch

The Police Nationale is the principal civil law enforcement agency of France, and has jurisdiction over large towns and cities.

Battlefield 3

The French Gendarmerie (Military Law Enforcement Agency) and the Police Nationale (National Police, Civil Law Enforcement Agency) appear as a non-playable factions during the mission Comrades, where they engage both PLR operatives as well as Dimitri Mayakovsky and the other GRU agents attempting to track down the carrier of the nuclear weapon.

In Co-op, the GIGN and Police Nationale appear during the missions involving Paris. However, they are allies rather than enemies, and mostly serve only as extras. In The Eleventh Hour, they appear, storming the Stock Exchange. Most of them are killed as soon as they enter the building or by an exploding van near the entrance.

The maps Operation Métro and Seine Crossing take place in Paris. However, neither the French GIGN nor the National Police make an appearance in either of these maps.